Motocross: The Ultimate Family Sport

From a young age, much of my life has revolved around sport. From rugby on cold Friday nights to playing tennis with brothers, sport has been a constant throughout my life. Growing up on a farm I was exposed to motorcycles – mainly quad bikes – from a young age. Before long my brother and I had convinced dad to get us a PW 50 and we were hooked.

From then on we burned many tanks of fuel on afternoons after school and weekends with friends. By ages 9 and 11, respectively, we had progressed to the world of gears, two-strokes and racing. I continued racing through my late teens, until bikes became a little too expensive and Rugby took over for a few years, while my brother pursued and achieved a dream of racing the Australian MX Nationals. This is not an article about our story however, but about the sport of motocross.

Walk through the pits of any race in Australia, whether at a local club day, a state title or the privateer pits of a national and a common thread appears. Motocross is a sport built around family; it takes a family effort to race motocross, no matter what level. Parents put their hard earned money into bikes and gear for their kids – the majority simply for enjoyment. On race day it’s a full effort from Mum and Dad to ensure the bike is working well and the kids are fed, hydrated and happy. Crashes and injuries are a part of the sport and these are dealt with as a family; success is shared, as is failure, pain and disappointment.

The sacrifice involved for a family with a child seeking to become a professional increases tenfold. Racing or riding every weekend, maintaining bikes and gear and travelling all over the country amounts to massive costs for a family; yet so many throw everything they have at the sport they and their children love.

Walk through the privateer pits at a national event and you will notice that supporting many athletes are Mum and Dad, still involved even as their children grow into their twenties – something extremely uncommon in other sports. The cost of this sport cannot be disputed, and it takes commitment and help like this for privateers to chase their goals. For many privateers racing at the professional level they will never make a cent out of this sport, instead forking out their own cash with support of family in the hope of one day earning a paid ride, or better yet factory ride.

Those who do make it to the top of our sport do it with the support of family also; Ryan Villopoto at the top of the international scene and the Moss brothers at the top of the Australian scene, as examples. Yet even those at the peak have battled their fair share of adversity and family issues; in last year’s CBS documentary on Villopoto’s career (Ryan Villopoto: A Champion) the stress placed on Ryan’s relationship with his parents was put on show for all to see. At stages throughout his career he has had no contact with his parents, the ones who enabled him to reach his goals, but has since repaired the relationships with his family as he looks to possibly close out his career on top. Although I am not privy to the inner workings of the Moss brothers’ relationship with their father, Greg, it is easy to see from the outside looking in that his influence on their careers has been immense. Their relationship has withstood the pressure of the MX environment – an achievement in itself.

The end goal of becoming a paid professional motocross rider does not eventuate for most. The dreams do not always have a happy ending. However the effort and cost is not without reward – the experiences gained in the pursuit of the dream are priceless. Strong bonds are created on the road between a family of motocross devotees, as they each live through the highs and lows of race days. The relationships created through the sport carry on into the future, and it can be argued that no family is as tightly intertwined as one which has grown with motocross.